THE  ROBERT   E.  COWAN  COLLECTION 


I'RESKXTED    tO   THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CRLIFORNIA 


C.  P.  HUNTINGTON 

cJUNE,   18^7. 

Recession  No,  A^/^^       Class  No, 


cJUNE,   18^7.  Q 

o^g^fT'     Class  No.  f=^^/ 


lY^31. 


«7 


'■sr*-- 


Adventures  and  Narrow  Escapes 


i 


NICARAGUA  I 


|l 


BY 


JOSEPH    WORTH, 

In  1866  and  1867 ^ 


PKINTED    AND    PUBLISHED   BY 

^PAULDING     ^     BaRTO,    BoOK    AND    ^OB     PRINTERS, 

"  Pacific  Rural  Press,"   414  Clay  Street,  Sai;  PVancisco. 

1872. 


^. 


Adventures  and  Narrow  Escapes 


I  NICARAGUA  I 


PEINTED  AND  PUBLISHED   BY 
LDING    ^    ^ARTO,  ^OOK    AND    jfOB    J^RINTERS, 
•  Pacific  Rural  Press,"  414  Clay  Street,  San  Francisco. 

1872. 


jsi^-^ 


ADVENTURES 


NI  C  AR A  G  UA 


CHAPTEE  I. 


In  presenting  to  tlie  public  this  sketcli  of  Nica- 
ragua, it  is  not  the  intention  to  weary  the  reader 
with  dry  historic  facts,  and  repetition  of  familiar 
descriptions,  but  rather  to  present  the  incidents 
and  occurrences  of  a  continued  visit  in  Central 
America,  in  1866,  and  1867. 

There  has  been  little  change  in  Nicaragua  since 
the  publication  of  the  last  edition  of  E.  G.  Squier's 
works,  giving  a  full  and  complete  description  of 
the  country ;  therefore,  the  author  of  these  sketches 
will  confine  them  principally  to  incidental  occur- 
rences, with  only  a  brief  outline  of  the  country 
and  people,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  not 
acquainted  themselves  with  the  condition  of  Nica- 
ragua, since  the  first  edition  of  Squier's  work, 
published  in  1852. 


4:  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

The  beautiful  but  hapless  Eepublic  of  Nicaragua, 
has  been  the  theatre  of  a  series  of  startling  events, 
which  have  concentrated  upon  it,  not  only  the- at- 
tention of  the  American  public,  but  of  all  civilized 
nations.  It  has  been  the  arena  of  aimless,  and  not 
always  reputable  and  diplomatic  contests,  and  of  an 
obstinate  and  bloody  struggle  between  a  handful 
of  Northern  adventurers  and  an  effete  and  decadent 
race.  Unless  the  future  shall  strangely  betray  the 
indications  of  the  present,  it  is  destined  to  pass 
through  a  succession  of  still  severer  trials,  in  its 
advance  to  that  political  status  and  commercial  im- 
portance, inseparable  from  its  geographical  position 
and  natural  resources;  for  in  Nicaragua,  and  there 
alone,  has  Nature  combined  those  requisites  for  a 
water  communication  between  the  seas,  which  has 
so  long  been  the  dream  of  commercial  enthusiasts, 
and  which  is  a  desideratum  of  this  age,  as  it  will 
be  a  necessity  of  the  next.  There,  too,  has  she 
lavished  with  a  bountiful  hand  rich  tropical  treas- 
ures; and  the  genial  earth  waits  only  for  the  touch 
of  industry  to  reward  the  husbandman  a  hundred- 
fold with  those  products,  which,  while  they  con- 
tribute to  his  wealth,  add  to  the  comfort  and  give 
employment  to  the  laborer  of  distant  and  less 
favored  lands. 

Public  interest,  and  especially  American  interest 
in  Nicaragua  must  therefore  increase.  The  desire  to 
know  the  characteristics  of  the  country,  its  scenery 
and  products,  the  habits  and  customs  of  its  people, 
can    never   diminish.     In    all   essential  respects. 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  O 

Nicaragua  is  little  changed  since  1854 — at  that 
period,  E.  G.  Squier  made  another  visit.  It  is  true 
Grenada  has  been  added  to  its  list  of  ruined 
cities,  and  Eevas  and  Managua  bear  the  scars  of 
battles  on  their  walls.  The  peojDle  have  perhaps  a 
more  thoughtful  look,  as  becomes  men  realizing 
that  the  fullness  of  time  has  finally  brought  them 
within  the  circle  of  the  world's  movements,  and 
that  they  assume  to  discharge  the  responsibilities 
of  their  new  position,  or  give  place  to  those  who 
are  equal  to  the  requirements  of  this  age,  and 
prompt  to  recognize  their  duties  to  their  fellow- 
men.  In  all  other  respects  the  country  is  un- 
changed. 

Its  high  and  regular  volcanic  cones,  its  vast  plains, 
broad  lakes,  bright  rivers,  and  emerald  verdure, 
are  still  the  same;  the  agua-dora  still  steps  along 
firmly  under  her  heavy  water  jar,  or  climbs  panting 
up  the  cliffs  that  surround  the  lake  of  Managua. 
The  naked  children,  in  average  color,  possibly  a 
shade  lighter  than  before,  still  bestride  the  hips 
of  nurse  or  mother.  Small  and  pensive  mules 
still  trudge  to  market,  ears  and  feet  alone  visible 
beneath  their  green  loads  of  sacate.  The  Moso 
and  his  machete,  the  red-belted  cavalier  on  scarlet 
pillions,  urging  his  restles  horse  through  the  street; 
the  languid  Senora  puffing  the  smoke  of  her  cigar- 
ette in  lazy  jets  through  her  nostrils;  the  sober- 
faced  priest,  with  gallo  under  his  arm  hurrying  to 
the  nearest  cock-pit;  the  shrill  qui  vive  of  the 
barefooted  sentinel;  the  rat-tat-too   of  the  after- 


b  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 

noon  drum,  the  eternal  '^saints"  days,  and  bang- 
ing bomas — all  remain  the  same  as  they  were 
in  the  days  of  generations  before  them.  The  people 
are  not  seeldng  new  inventions,  as  are  the 
North  American  people,  who  sometimes  seek  in 
vain,  and  are  never  contented  with  the  best.  The 
Central  American  natives  lack  the  ingenuity  of  the 
Yankee — in  fact  they  seem  to  require  less  talent  of 
this  kind,  for  the  country  is  well  calculated  to  sus- 
tain a  population  without  a  strike  of  the  hands. 
Laziness  is  really  an  acceptable  element  to  this 
class  of  inhabitants,  who  regard  economical  meas- 
ures and  saving  propensities,  or  the  accumula- 
tion of  property,  as  needless  labor  and  useless  ef- 
fort. 

Returning  to  the  incidents  of  this  sketch,  we 
trace  them  from  the  time  of  leaving  San  Francisco 
until  the  return  of  the  Colonization  Society,  which, 
during  our  absence,  had  broken  up.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  society  was  the  establishment  of  an 
American  town  in  the  rich  domains  of  Nicaragua, 
where  a  trade  should  be  established  among  our- 
selves that  should  be  prolific  of  good  to  the  country 
and.  profit  to  the  colony.  We  sailed  from  San 
Francisco  in  the  barque  "Domingo."  Incidental  to 
the  trip,  are  notes  of  ten  days  in  a  calm,  scarcity 
of  water,  heavy  storm  and  rain,  canvas  stretched 
and  plenty  of  water  secured.  Forty  days  at  sea, 
arrived  at  Eealejo,  anchored  and  signaled  for  pilot. 
Detained  through  a  misunderstanding,  as  the  in- 
habitants squared  their  guns  for  fight,  understand- 


ESCAPES    IN   NICARAGUA.  7 

ing  our  signal  a  sign  for  battle;  becoming  convinced 
of  tbeir  error  tliey  came  to  our  rescue.  We  were 
soon  surrounded  by  natives  in  small  boats,  with 
various  kinds  of  fruits  for  sale.  Owing  to  the 
great  quantity  grown  there,  and  the  limited  market, 
we  obtained  all,  and  more  than  we  desired,  at 
wonderfully  low  prices.  At  this  place  we  secured 
flat  boats  to  transport  us  up  the  river.  Our  colony 
consisted  of  a  large  majority  of  Germans,  who 
preferred  to  leave  the  party  and  embarked  accord- 
ingly for  the  town  of  Chinandega,  while  the 
Americans  started  for  Leon,  the  capital  of  the 
State.  The  German  wing  took  route  via  one  river, 
the  American  the  other.  At  2  o'clock  the  follow- 
ing morning,  we  took  our  departure.  A  trifling  in- 
cident occurred  here .  As  the  paddles  of  our  boat  com- 
menced their  motion,  the  natives  who  were  rowing 
us  along  commenced  their  songs,  which  is  customary 
with  them  starting  on  a  voyage,  when  suddenly  a 
shrill  shout  ]3ierced  the  air,  crying  out  to  us,  halt! 
Through  the  dim  light  of  the  approaching  dawn, 
we  saw  a  small  boat  rowing  rapidly  in  our  wake. 
It  proved  to  be  one  of  the  sailors  leaving  the  ship 
to  follow  us  to  Nicaragua.  He  came  on  board  leav- 
ing the  Captain's  boat  (he  had  made  his  escape  in  it,) 
to  drift  where  it  would.  He  was  only  sixteen  years 
of  age.  The  last  heard  from  him  he  was  mate  of 
one  of  the^San  Juan  river  boats.  His  Captain  re- 
covered his  boat,  but  never  found  his  boy.  At 
daylight  we  had  arrived  at  a  point  up  the  river  as 
far  as  navigable  for  our  boat,  and  discharged  our 


8  ADVENTURES   AND    NAEROW 

cargo,  at  a  place  called  Barceto.  We  remained  at 
this  point  until  next  day,  and  then  secured  carts  to 
carry  us  to  the  city.  These  vehicles  we  call  carts 
were  two  wheeled  conveyences,  which  were  drawn 
by  two  yoke  of  cattle,  with  two  natives  for  drivers. 
As  the  wheels  began  to  creak  with  a  horrible  noise, 
the  drivers  attempted  to  remedy  it  by  the  applica- 
tion or  the  use  of  a  kind  of  bark  having  the  condi- 
ment principle  of  axle  grease  in  it.  "We  made  very 
good  progress  with  these  clumsy  carts,  and  night 
found  us  in  the  city  of  Leon;  making  our  way  to 
an  English  Hotel,  where  we  found  excellent  ac- 
comodations, we  remained  three  or  four  days,  and 
four  of  us  rented  a  house  on  the  copartnership 
princij)le,  which  we  called  **  head-quarters.'* 
As  head-quarters  it  served  us  very  well,  for  our 
principal  object  was  to  canvass  the  country,  and 
settle  upon  some  definite  plan  of  active  business, 
buying  and  selling  land  being  the  chief  hobby,  or 
ambition  of  our  party. 

The  native  citizens  of  the  city  of  Leon  welcomed 
us  with  demonstrations  of  joy  and  friendship.  As 
we  passed  along  the  streets  they  lifted  hats  crying 
out  **adios  Americanos,''  and  many  other  words  of 
friendly  welcome.  We  were  the  recipient  of  many 
and  frequent  invitations  to  the  plaza,  to  listen  to 
the  music  of  the  brass  band,  which  discoursed  its 
music  every  evening.  They  seemed  anxious  to  talk 
to  us,  and  entertain  us — particularly  were  they  anx- 
ious to  learn  the  English,  quite  as  much  so  as  we 
were  to  speak  Spanish. 


ESCAPES   IN    NICARAGUA.  9 

After  a  sojourn  of  five  or  six  days  in  the  city,  we 
obtained  lease  of  a  farm  about  six  miles  from  Leon, 
near  the  town  of  Kisiluaka,  with  the  intention  of 
raising  our  eatables  for  the  following  year; 
this  scheme  we  found  to  be  money  out  of 
pocket,  as  we  could  purchase  corn  of  the  natives 
much  cheaper  than  we  could  raise  it;  one  of  our 
company  was  a  merchant,  one  a  doctor,  one  a  sad- 
dler, and  another  a  sailor,  each  commencing  in 
earnest  the  life  of  a  farmer — the  author  of  this 
sketch  undertook  the  position  as  cook,  but  was  the 
first  to  abandon  the  business;  the  saddler  soon  re- 
tired and  took  up  his  trade  in  the  'city;  the  re- 
mainder of  the  colonists  planted  about  twelve 
acres  of  corn;  the  merchant  sold  out  his  interest 
for  the  sum  of  ten  dollars,  and  started  for  San 
Francisco.  The  sailor  also  retired,  and  the  doctor 
now  became  sole  proprietor  of  the  crop — out  of 
money  and  help — and  was  in  a  deplorable  condition 
for  carrying  on  the  farm  in  a  strange  country,  and 
among  a  strange  people.  But  this  compelled  him  to 
go  to  the  field  himself,  although  he  would  as  soon 
die  as  to  do  it.  He  was  at  this  time  boarding  with 
the  man  of  whom  he  rented  the  farm,  an  American, 
who  had  been  practising  medicine  a  little  among 
the  natives,  who  advised  the  doctor  to  relinquish 
the  agricultural  scheme,  and  go  to  practicing  his 
profession;  so  with  a  degree  of  liberality,  seldom 
known  in  barbarous  countries,  he  made  him  a 
present  of  a  horse  and  a  stock  of  medicines,  and 
started  him  in  a  good  practice  in  Leon.  Li  less 
1* 


10  ADVENTUEES   AND    NARROW 

than  a  year  the  doctor  was  worth  a  thousand  dol- 
lars clear  of  all  expenses.  He  fell  back  upon  his 
dignity  with  a  native  servant,  and  interpreter,  but 
his  corn  rotted  in  the  field,  except  that  portion 
stolen  by  the  natives. 

After  the  disbanding  of  our  party  I  started  an 
enterprise  of  my  own.  I  purchased  a  small  place 
in  the  town  of  Kisiluaka,  with  the  intention  of  rais- 
ing garden  vegetables,  and  a  fine  variety  of  fruit 
trees.  I  was  quite  alone  among  the  natives,  but  I 
was  very  proud  of  my  new  prospects,  and  felt  in- 
dependent at  last.  I  was  making  a  bold  adventure, 
but  was  determined  no  slight  cause  should  dis- 
courage me,  although  I  found  it  a  lonely,  weary  life. 
The  first  night  of  my  sojourn  on  my  farm,  I  ex- 
perienced a  very  heavy  earthquake,  that  sent  my 
bed  and  body  flying  across  my  room  in  a  hurry. 
In  settling  upon  this  farm  and  engaging  in  agri- 
culture in  Nicaragua,  I  had  nursed  the  idea  that  it 
would  soon  be  settled  by  Americans.  It  possessed 
attractions  sufficient  to  induce  an  enterprising 
imigration,  and  there  was  every  reason  to  believe 
that  American  enterprise  would  develop  the  rich 
rescources  of  Central  America.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  so  fine  a  country  should  be  left  to  nature's 
waste  and  idle  natives,  who  lay  in  their  hammocks 
smoking  their  cigarettes,  with  neither  ambition 
nor  wish  for  their  country's  welfare  and  develop- 
ment. 

It  would  be  a  satisfaction  to  ascertain  the  real 
cause  that  has  prevented   American  people  from 


OP  TKF  \ 


i^y^i^^^-^j    11 


settling  and  developing  Central  America.  Young 
men  that  have  no  homes  would  find  an  opening  in 
Nicaragua  for  wealth  and  position.  There  is  land 
of  the  richest  and  most  productive  quality,  to  be 
had  at  reasonable  prices.  Americans  as  a  general 
thing  never  have  land  enough;  it  makes  but  little 
difference  how  much  land  an  American  owns,  he 
invariably  wants  more.  However  people  seem  to  be 
afraid  to  go  to  Central  America,  even  to  ascertain 
its  capabilites  and  rescources.  Bugbear  stories  of 
the  poisonous  lowlands,  infectious  localities,  and 
ravenous  beasts,  have  been  circulated  and  exagger- 
ated by  newspaper  men,  writers  of  romance  and 
silly  sensation,  until  there  seems  to  be  an  accumu- 
lated mass  of  false  representation,  that  no  doubt 
retards  the  better  class  of  emigration,  interests  and 
projects  in  this  section  of  our  Continent.  The 
bugbear  stories  of  the  country  being  over- 
run with  alligators  is  all  nonsense,  as  well  as 
the  reports  of  its  being  infested  with  poison- 
ous reptiles  and  insects.  It  is  true  that  alligators 
and  animals,  snakes  and  insects,  are  found 
found  in  Nicaragua,  the  same  as  in  other  countries. 
The  scorpion  is  more  numerous,  but  not  so  much 
so  that  it  is  a  grievance.  The  bite  of  the  scorpion 
is  a  serious  thing.  If  a  person  bitten  can  obtain 
native  rum  and  drink  a  great  quantity  of  it,  the  ef- 
fect is  an  immediate  cure.  An  insect  known  as 
the  jigger  is  also  common  there,  as  well  as  in  some 
portions  of  California.  Stories  are  told  of  the 
jigger   poison  producing  instant  death;  also^of  the 


12  ADVENTUEES   AND    NARROW 

poisonous  little  fellows  imbedding  themselves 
under  the  skin  of  the  feet,  and  depositing  their 
eggs.  The  report  is  correct,  but  the  exaggerated  re- 
ports of  the  terrible  results  are  seldom  within  the 
scope  of  truth. 

THE   BITE    OF   A   JIGGER. 

The  egg  of  the  jigger  is  deposited  under  the 
skin,  and  leaves  a  small  black  dot,  not  as  large  as 
the  head  of  a  pin,  just  in  the  center  of  a  yellow 
spot  about  as  large  as  half  a  pea.  When  they  are 
extracted  the  jigger  and  the  eggs  come  out  to- 
gether in  a  round  bag,  about  half  as  large  as  a 
common  pea;  when  this  bag  is  not  broken  by  tak- 
ing it  out,  it  is  not  poisonous,  but  when  it  breaks 
it  poisons  the  blood  and  inflames  the  flesh  at  once. 
I  have  had  them  in  my  feet  over  six  hours  at  a 
time,  and  have  taken  them  out  with  the  sharp  point 
of  a  penknife,  and  the  trouble  was  all  over  at  once. 
A  person  of  impure  blood  is  liable  to  be  aff'ected 
by  the  jigger  more  acutely  and  severely  than 
one  of  temperate  habits  and  pure  blood.  If  there 
are  people  who  will  stay  away  from  a  good  country, 
because  they  are  afraid  of  the  jiggers,  they  had 
better  stay  at  home  wherever  it  may  be,  and  live  on 
the  fruits  of  poverty  and  prejudice  the  balance  of 
their  lives.  Such  persons  would  be  of  little  use 
in  developing  a  new  country  or  any  of  its  re- 
scources — no  matter  how  simple  they  may  be.  A 
country  possessing  so  much  material  wealth,  and 


ESCAPES  IN    NICARAGUA. 


13 


so  many  attractions  for  the  enterprise  of  a  good 
citizenship,  needs  the  energy  and  backbone  of  a 
self-reliant  and  self-sustaining  population,  who 
have  a  pride  in  the  institutions  of  the  country,  its 
future  and  its  several  interests,  as  well  as  in  their 
own  personal  interests. 


14  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 


CHAPTER  II. 

TRIP    TO  THE  MINES  OF  MATAGALPA. 

The  prospect  for  making  money  began  to  look 
dubious;  the  Americans  were  leaving  instead  of 
arriving,  and  to  think  of  making  money  out  of  the 
natives  was  an  absurdity — one  might  as  well  at- 
tempt to  extract  blood  from  a  turnip.  I  considered 
myself  fortunate  in  preventing  them  from  stealing 
the  little  I  possessed;  still  I  could  not  think  of 
returning  to  San  Francisco.  I  therefore  deter- 
mined to  travel  over  the  country  and  ascertain  its 
possibilities, and  acquaint  myself  thoroughly  with  its 
capabilities  and  resources.  The  principal  object  of 
interest  at  the  time  was  the  mining  industry.  The 
mines  of  Matagalga  were  occupying  much  of  public 
attention,  and  in  company  with  an  American  who 
owned  an  interest  in  them,  and  who  was  going  over 
to  take  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the  expenses 
thereof,  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  to 
visit  that  section.  Several  of  our  party  who  had 
not  left  Nicaragua,  but  had  returned  from  a  pros- 
pecting expedition  among  the  mines  of  Xicoro, 
had  returned  very  favorable  reports;  but  as  their 
mules  were  poor  and  tired  out,  they  could  not  be 
induced  to  return  at  the  time,  but  would  remain 
until  my  return  from  Matagalpa,  and  consider 
whether  we  would  embark  together  in  mining  in- 


ESCAPES   IN    NICARAGUA.  15 

terests.  Mr.  Greer  kindly  furnished  me  with  a 
mule  and  necessary  equipments,  and  after  looking 
to  our  arms  and  ammunition,  we  were  soon  on  the 
way  to  the  noted  mines.  We  traveled  about 
thirty  miles  and  stopped  at  an  Indian  hut  for  the 
night.  It  being  my  first  ride  for  some  time,  I  was 
quite  tired,  and  accosted  the  man  of  the  house 
with  afamilar  '*  how-do-you-do,"  while  Mr.  Greer, 
who  was  somewhat  acquainted  with  him,  left  his 
money  in  his  charge  for  the  night.  The  night  was 
one  of  those  cool,  genial  nights,  where  the  soft 
semi-tropic  breezes,  laden  with  the  odors  of 
fragrant  verdure,  seem  to  have  a  somniferous 
effect  upon  the  senses,  and  a  time  when  sleep  is 
doubly  refreshing.  The  next  morning  we  were  on 
our  way  early,  and  had  traveled  quite  a  distance 
before  we  found  that  we  had  taken  the  wrong 
road,  which  terminated  abruptly  and  left  us  in  a 
thick  forest  without  a  road  or  a  sign  of  one.  The 
vines  and  brush  were  so  densely  grown  that  it  was 
almost  impassable.  The  monkeys  were  scamper- 
ing about  with  great  glee,  but  looking  as  if  they 
were  very  much  surprised  to  see  us.  Mr.  Greer 
began  to  get  a  little  out  of  humor.  As  he  was  the 
guide  and  leader,  his  task  was  more  difficult  than 
mine — I  being  '*only  a  passenger."  On  this  occar 
sion  a  frequent  resort  to  the  bottle  seemed  to  be 
his  consolation  in  the  dilemma.  After  having  con- 
sulted the  whisky  several  times  he  passed  it  to  me, 
with  the  ludicrous  question,  "  how  are  ive  to  get  out 
of  this  ? "      After  creeping  through  the  brush  we 


16  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 

we  managed  to  find  an  Indian  hut,  where  we  ob- 
tained an  Indian  breakfast,  at  the  hour  of  12  m. 
We  obtained  a  good  rest,  and  engaged  an  Indian 
to  take  us  to  our  road,  which  we  found  in  about 
two  hours.  Night  found  us  in  another  Indian 
village,  called  Jicaral,  where  we  took  up  our  abode 
for  the  night. 

The  morning  dawned  beautifully,  and  we  set 
out  at  an  early  hour.  It  was  a  general  rule  that 
travelers  should  journey  only  in  the  cool  hours  of 
the  morning,  until  about  nine  o'clock,  and  before 
breakfasting.  We  were  now  on  the  right  course, 
but  the  road  being  rough  and  mountainous,  our 
mules  traveled  very  slow,  and  required  a  great 
amount  of  persuasion  to  urge  them  along,  and  the 
persuaders,  as  we  called  them,  comprised  of  very 
heavy  Spanish  spurs,  seemed  to  have  lost  their 
persuasive  powers,  and  the  mules  seemed  to  stand 
the  strokes  stoically  and  comjolacently.  We 
traveled  along  until  eight  o'clock,  and  halted  at  an 
old  Indian  hut  for 'the  night.  The  next  morning 
we  started  before  daylight,  in  order  to  reach  our 
destination  before  the  night;  being  very  dark  it 
was  difficult  to  find  our  way,  which  was  a  narrow 
path  through  a  hilly  country,  overgrown  with  dense 
underbrush. 

It  was  my  turn  to  carry  the  money,  this  morn- 
ing, on  my  mule.  It  weighed  about  thirty  jDOunds, 
and  a  very  inconvenient  pack  it  made,  tied  to  the 
back  of  my  saddle.  Being  unable  to  see  my  way, 
except  occasionally  as  I  caught  sight  of  Mr.  Greer's 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  17 

figure  in  the  advance,  I  allowed  the  mule  to  find 
its  own  way  to  the  best  of  its  instinct  and  ability. 
While  endeavoring  to  ascend  a  very  steep  bank, 
the  poor  animal  made  a  mistep,  gave  a  lunge,  and 
slipped  through  the  girth,  leaving  myself,  pack 
and  saddle  in  the  rear.  Fortunately  I  clung  to 
the  halter,  and  soon,  with  great  difficulty,  saddled 
again,  and  presently  overtook  Mr.  Greer. 

About  noon  we  found  ourselves  in  the  town  of 
Matagalpa,  where  we  refreshed  ourselves  with  a 
hearty  lunch,  and  were  soon  on  our  way  to  the 
mines,  nine  miles  beyond.  We  arrived  between 
four  and  five  o'clock.  This  mine  was  in  charge  of 
an  American  employed  by  Mr.  Greer.  It  is  a  gold 
quartz  mine,  running  in  a  regular  ledge,  and  is 
worked  by  the  old  Spanish  arastas,  that  only  save 
about  two-thirds  of  the  gold. 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  they  were  ready 
to  clean  up,  and  calculated  there  was  about  ten 
tons  of  quartz  crushed,  of  which  the  results  were 
three  pounds  of  gold,  or,  by  close  figures,  3  lbs. 
8  oz.,  making  $7,680;  and  there  are  plenty  of  good 
quartz  mines  in  other  localities  fully  as  rich.  The 
dense  vegetation  is  a  great  obstable  to  discovering 
ledges.  The  Indians  have  frequently  brought  in 
specimens  of  gold  quartz  that  are  very  rich. 

I  found  the  climate  here  cool  and  pleasant,  the 
soil  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  grain — some 
wheat  is  already  raised,  but  to  no  great  extent. 
The  hills  are  covered  with  an  abundance  of  grass, 
the  wild  stock  roll  in  fattening  feed,  and  regale 
themselves  on  the  j)urest  of  water. 


18  ADVENTURES  AND    NARROW 

The  quartz  mill  was  run  by  water.  Mr.  Greer 
has  the  benefit  of  three  falls,  sufficient  in  power 
and  amount  of  water  to  run  half  a  dozen  mills. 

We  remained  at  this  mine  five  days.  Duiing  my 
stay,  I  availed  myself  of  a  bath  in  the  river.  My 
feet  were  very  sore,  as  I  supposed  from  the  wearing 
of  the  heavy  spurs,  but  on  examination  I  found 
my  spurs  innocent  of  the  charge,  for,  quite  to  the 
contrary,  I  found  my  heels  filled  with  jiggers. 
Taking  my  penknife,  I  soon  removed  three  large 
nests  of  these  abominable  little  insects.  Filling 
the  places  with  tallow,  I  put  on  my  boots,  and  was 
ti^oubled  no  more  with  sore  heels. 

After  we  had  spent  five  days,  we  started  on  our 
return  to  the  city  of  Leon.  As  Mr.  Greer  had 
business  in  the  town  of  Matagalpa,  that  would  oc- 
cupy one  day,  he  left  the  mines  a  day  in  advance 
of  me.  On  the  following  day  I  started,  accom- 
panied by  one  of  his  native  employes,  to  overtake 
him  at  Matagalpa,  and  arrived  in  due  time;  but  as 
Mr.  Greer  had  not  fully  completed  his  business, 
I  pushed  on,  leaving  him  to  overtake  me.  As  we 
had  more  load  now  we  had  an  extra  mule,  and  a 
native  to  lead  him.  As  Mr.  Greer  was  behind,  I 
was  traveling  quite  unarmed,  and  entirely  alone, 
excej)t  the  native  sjDoken  of;  but  having  left  the 
gold  with  Mr.  Greer,  I  was  not  in  as  much  danger 
of  being  molested,  and  the  native  knowing  the 
money  was  left,  would  not  be  as  a^^t  to  turn  as- 
sassin, neither  did  he  know  that  I  was  unarmed; 
they  know  the  Americans  always  traveled  armed. 


I 


ESCAPES   IN    NICARAGUA.  19 

However  we  traveled  along  the  remainder  of  the 
day  without  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Greer,  and  9 
o'clock  came  before  we  found  a  house,  or  a  place 
where  we  could  obtain  food  or  shelter  for  ourselves 
and  tired  animals. 

Just  before  dusk  I  noticed  there  were  four  or 
five  natives  along  with  us.  They  had  joined  us 
with  a  small  pack  train  and  continued  with  us 
until  we  stopped  for  the  night.  It  was  an  un- 
common incident  for  them  to  travel  so  late,  and  I 
considered  their  company  no  compliment  to  our 
party,  therefore  kept  an  eye  on  them. 

As  I  took  the  lead,  and  as  the  road  was  good 
and  the  moon  shone  very  bright,  I  felt  very  little 
anxiety.  Just  before  nine  o'clock  my  native  took 
a  branch  road,  saying  we  will  take  this  canento 
where  we  shall  find  a  house  and  probably  some- 
thing to  eat.  As  I  rode  up  to  the  Indian  hut  and 
dismounted,  I  inquired  for  something  to  eat — the 
Response  came,  *'no  aqui  mvy  tarde" — not  any 
too  late.  I  then  asked  for  some  feed  for  our  ani- 
mals. The  reply  was  the  same.  Looking  around, 
I  discovered  another  hut  at  a  short  distance, 
and  sent  the  native  who  was  helping  me  to  make 
similar  inquiries.  Meantime  I  commenced  taking 
off  the  saddle  with  the  determination  to  stay,  food 
or  no  food.  I  could  hear  the  natives  who  had 
been  traveling  with  us  singing  and  whooping 
where  they  had  camped  in  the  road,  close  by. 
After  I  had  removed  the  saddle,  the  native  of  the 
house  concluded  to  give  me  some  feed,  and  came 


20  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 

out  with  his  knife  and  rope,  to  cut  and  carry  it 
with.  He  asked  how  much  I  wanted,  and  after 
waiting  about  half  an  hour,  he  returned  with  as 
much  as  he  could  carry,  and  about  an  hour  after 
my  native  came  with  some  food.  After  feeding 
the  animals,  as  we  were  enjoying  a  hearty  su^Dper, 
a  Spaniard  rode  up  and  asked  if  w^e  were  not 
traveling  with  Mr.  Greer,  and  informed  us  that  he 
had  just  passed;  we  tried  to  hail  him,  but  it  was  a 
useless  attempt,  and  we  rested  easy  until  morning. 
The  next  morning  we  were  on  our  way  very 
early,  and  at  about  nine  o'clock  caught  up  with 
Mr.  Greer,  and  packing  our  mule  with  about  three 
thousand  dollars  of  gold,  that  he  had  buried,  we 
proceeded  on  our  way,  and  nothing  else  occurred 
worthy  of  record  until  we  arrived  at  Leon — but  we 
traveled  day  and  night,  carrying  our  food  with  us. 
Having  no  regular  hour  for  eating,  we  replenished 
the  inner  man  whenever  we  felt  like  it.  Our  food 
consisted  of  a  kind  of  bread  called  **  tortas," 
made  of  corn,  boiled  in  strong  lye  of  ashes.  It  is 
usually  made  in  the  evening,  and  allowed  to  cool 
over  night.  In  the  morning  it  is  placed  in  a 
wooden  tray,  usually  about  100  pounds  at  a  time, 
and  carried  on  the  heads  of  the  maharos  sometimes 
a  mile  to  the  river,  where  a  large  hole  is  made  in  a 
rock,  where  the  corn  is  deposited;  a  little  fresh 
water  is  added;  then  the  maharos  get  into  it  with 
both  feet  and  keep  up  a  constant  pounding,  which 
takes  off  the  hulls.  It  is  then  washed  with  fresh 
water.      After   this  process    is    completed,   it  is 


ESCAPES   IN   NICAEAGUA.  21 

ground  between  two  rocks  hewn  and  cut  for  the 
purpose.  The  flat  rock  is  usually  12  by  18  inches 
square;  flat  on  top,  about  three  inches  in  thick- 
ness, with  three  legs  under  it — another  rock  is  used 
to  grind — water  is  used  when  it  is  ground;  after 
this  process  it  is  in  the  shape  of  dough,  and  ready 
to  bake.  The  baking  apparatus  is  a  kind  of 
earthen  pan  or  skillet,  made  out  of  clay,  burnt 
very  hard  for  the  purpose.  After  this  material  is 
well  baked  it  is  called  torta.  How  I  used  to  hate 
the  sound  of  the  torta  stones !  It  seems  but  yes- 
terday, yet  a  year  fraught  with  many  changes  has 
[  rolled  away  since  I  heard  that  grating,  annoying 
I  sound  of  bread-making  in  Nicaragua. 

There  is  much  to  be  remembered  in  Central 
I  America  of  beauty  and  pleasure.  The  fair  skies, 
I  the  evergreen  verdure,  the  creeping  flowering  vines, 
that  wave  among  the  branches  of  the  tallest  trees 
I  and  shake  their  rich  blossoms  in  the  sunlight  from 
January  to  January;  the  fine  fruits,  the  tropic 
flowers,  the  fascinating  climate — are  all  worthy  of 
[  special  mention.  Nowhere  in  the  world  is  to  be 
I  found  such  exquisite  breaths  of  purity  and  warmth, 
[as  in  this  charming  atmosphere.  Gaily  plumaged 
[birds, — rare  specimens, — flit  and  chirp  among 
[more  gorgeous  blossoms,  until  the  forests  seem 
[alive  with  bright  bodies  of  orange,  red,  and  purple. 
[Much  could  be  written  of  the  birds  of  Central 
I  America,  and  the  botanist  would  find  it  a  choice 
[field  for  collections  and  scientific  research. 


22  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

CHAPTEK  III. 

A  TRIP  TO  THE  IVHNES  OF  XICORO,  IN  1867. 

The  year  1866  has  passed  away,  with  its  many 
wild  and  varied  incidents,  and  1867  still  finds  me 
exploring  the  country,  and  so  far  have  accumulated 
nothing  but  information.  Unlike  many  others,  who 
have  simply  come  and  gone,  I  am  determined  to 
remain  until  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  ad- 
vantages, the  rescources,  and  products  of  Nicara- 
gua. 

After  spending  Christmas  in  the  city  of  Leon, 
and  about  the  town  of  Kisiluaka,  I  began  making 
preparations  for  the  mines.  I  was  obliged  to  buy 
a  horse  and  saddle,  to  be  ready  to  accompany  our 
party,  who  were  busy  making  their  preparations. 
January  10th  found  us  on  our  way  en  route  for 
Xicoro.  Our  party  consisted  of  five  Americans, 
with  a  native  to  look  after  our  stock.  Being  well 
armed  and  equipped  for  the  occasion,  we  antici- 
pated a  jolly  trip. 

We  left  Leon  at  nine  o'clock,  and  traveled  along 
splendidly  until  we  reached  the  pozos — the  wells — 
twelve  miles  from  the  city  and  camped  for  the 
night.  We  arrived  at  this  place  at  two  o'clock. 
The  natives  charged  us  for  water,  having  to  draw 
it  from  a  well.  After  we  had  fed  and  watered  our 
stock,  we  began  making  preparations  for  supper. 


ESCAPES   IN   NICAKAGUA.  23 

Of  course  we  did  our  own  cooking,  and  everybody 
seemed  to  do  his  share  of  the  eating.  After  supper, 
we  enjoyed  a  smoke,  with  good  cigars  that  only 
cost  one  cent.  I  seemed  to  be  the  **black  sheep" 
of  the  party,  or  rather  the  unlucky  one;  having 
the  chills  and  fever,  I  had  to  abandon  smoking, 
which  was  quite  a  sacrifice — previously  it  was  my 
greatest  luxury.  The  fever  and  ague  came  upon 
me  this  evening,  the  first  time  for  four  or  five  days. 
With  a  journey  of  225  miles  before  me,  a  raging 
fever  and  alternative  chills  was  a  poor  prospect; 
but  rather  than  go  back  to  Leon,  I  would  proceed 
if  I  suffered  a  thousand  deaths. 

The  next  morning  we  were  on  our  way  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  traveled  as  far  as  the  ranch  of  Dr. 
Gwzman,  a  distance  of  several  miles — here  we 
camped  again.  The  next  morning  broke  up  camp 
at  eight  o'clock  and  crossed  a  river  twice,  and  at 
five  o'clock  '^struck  tent"  on  the  east  bank.  The 
next  day  we  crossed  the  same  river  four  times,  and 
passed  through  an  Indian  town  by  the  name  of 
Jicaral,  and  pushed  on  rapidly  two  miles  further 
to  the  mines  of  Fitzgerald,  a  German.  He  has  a 
ten  stamp  mill  erected  that  runs  by  steam,  and  the 
mines  he  rents.  "We  camped  for  the  night  at  an 
early  hour.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th,  the  sad- 
dler, Theo.  Kelsey  and  myself,  remained  at  the 
mill,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  went  on  with  the 
train.  We  remained  until  the  next  morning,  in 
order  to  get  a  supply  of  qu^jtfiilvjer  for  our 
mines. 


24  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

The  15th  found  us  en  route  again,  each  carrying 
ten  pounds  of  quicksilver.  We  passed  through 
Santa  Rosa,  a  small  Indian  village,  and  crossed 
a  crooked  twisting  river  four  times  during  the  day, 
and  several  small  creeks;  also  crossed  the  summit 
of  the  first  mountain,  and  as  we  turned  our  back 
we  could  see  Lake  Managua  quite  visible,  but  at  a 
great  distance.  It  looked  bright  and  smooth  as  a 
muTor,  and  the  day  was  one  of  the  loveliest.  The 
birds  sent  forth  their  clearest  notes,  and  the  whole 
scene  was  one  of  picturesque  beauty.  As  we 
neared  the  summit,  we  halted  under  a  pine  tree, 
and  on  a  splendid  grass  plat,  threw  off  the  saddles, 
gave  the  horses  a  good  bait  and  ourselves  a  delight- 
ful rest.  After  a  refreshing  slumber,  we  proceeded 
on  our  way  with  refreshed  horses,  and  traveled  at 
a  lively  speed. 

On  the  16th  and  17th,  we  passed  several  fine  stock 
ranches,  and  saw  some  of  the  finest  horses  and 
cattle  to  be  found  anywhere.  The  grass  was  knee 
deep,  and  very  nutritious.  We  passed  a  great 
many  natives  bound  for  a  Fair,  held  in  a 
town  called  Sauci,  where  they  generally  take 
their  fat  cattle  and  sell  them  at  a  very  low 
price.  At  dark  on  the  17th,  we  came  upon  the 
camp  of  our  party,  near  a  small  town  called 
Cauda. 

On  the  following  morning  we  broke  camp,  hav- 
ing lost  one  mule — the  result  was  a  late  start.  We 
made  eighteen  miles  and  camped  in  a  small  village 
called  Poloofuena. 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  25 

On  the  loth  we  crossed  a  spur  of  tlie  mountains 
and  descended  into  a  dark  glen,  which  terminated 
at  last  by  opening  out  upon  a  valley,  through 
which  a  clear  stream  was  flowing.  On  the  north 
side  of  this  stream,  lies  the  really  pretty  town 
(Indian  town)  of  Telpaneca.  While  in  camp  here 
we  had  a  call  from  a  Padre,  a  very  pleasant  appear- 
ing Spaniard.  This  was  of  course  an  incident.  We 
traveled  along  without  interruption  for  two  days; 
finding  good  feed  for  the  stock,  plenty  of  good 
water  and  excellent  roads. 

On  the  21st  we  passed  a  large  sugar  house, 
or  mill,  owned  by  a  native,  which  seemed 
to  be  in  good  order  and  prosperity.  We  arrived 
in  Xicoro  about  half  past  two  o'clock,  and  were 
glad  to  ''pitch  our  tents." 

We  found  the  mines  we  desired  to  reach  were 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  town,  so  we  re- 
plenished our  stock  of  provisions.  We  were  aug- 
mented in  members  at  this  place  by  a  party  of 
Germans,  who  overtook  us,  and  like  ourselves  were 
prospecting  the  country. 

On  the  23d  we  made  a  fresh  start  with  a  large 
party,  all  in  good  spirits.  We  bade  farewell  to 
Xicoro  about  half-past  nine  in  the  morning. 
Xicoro  is  the  center  of  a  population  made  up  of 
Indians,  negroes,  Spanish — and  the  king  of  dark- 
ness knows  what  else;  but  at  all  events  the  blood 
of  the  place  is  black,  spotted,  yellow  and  tan, 
with  evidences  and  results  of  a  variety  from  the 


26  ADVENTURES  AND   NARROW 

mixture  of  all  these  elements.  It  was  a  horrible 
looking  town! 

On  the  evening  of  our  first  day's  travel  we 
camped  on  the  banks  of  a  small  river  where  the 
busy  hum  of  industry  is  heard;  the  spade  and 
shovel  had  made  havoc  with  nature's  original 
features;  a  dam  had  just  been  erected  on  the  river 
for  mining  purposes,  and  a  quartz  mill  in  process 
of  building — several  have  been  erected  since — they 
are  generally  owned  by  the  natives. 

On  the  24th  we  commenced  the  ascent  of  the 
hill,  which  was  so  steep  that  we  could  not  ride  up, 
and  were  obliged  to  leave  a  man  with  our  cargo — 
we  had  about  ten  miles  yet  to  make,  and  through 
a  very  rough  and  brushy  country.  We  soon  came 
to  the  mine  on  the  hill  called  the  Domingo  Manta, 
in  charge  of  Dr.  C.  Lockwood,  an  American.  The 
Doctor  invited  us  into  his  cabin,  gave  us  a  drink  of 
his  native  rum,  over  which  we  toasted  the  old  man 
well — he  bidding  us  good  speed.  Leaving  this 
place  we  left  the  last  sign  of  civilization,  and  after 
traveling  only  about  forty  rods,  we  began  to  cut 
our  way  through  a  young  forest  of  thick  under- 
growth. Three  of  us  drove'  the  train,  while  the 
balance  cut  the  way.  We  traveled  a  mile  in  this 
way,  and  then  camped  in  a  gulch  for  the  night. 

OUR   BILL   OF   FARE. 

We  did  not  serve  our  meals  in  fashionable  style. 
Neither  did  we  observe  any  hours  for  dining; 
whenever  it  was  convenient  we  had   dinner,  and 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  27 

took  our  supper  usually  at  the  same  time.  Each 
man  cuts  his  own  broiling  stick  and  cooks  to  suit 
his  taste.  Coffee  is  always  made — dried  meat  and 
bread  made  the  bulk  of  our  meal;  dessert  usually 
consisted  of  jokes  and  songs  and  a  long  smoke. 

CUTTING   OUR    WAY   THROUGH. 

The  next  day  the  men  set  at  work  cutting  a 
path  through  the  brush  again — being  ill  I  was  left 
as  keeper  of  camp.  The  boys  worked  at  the  brush 
till  night  set  in,  and  returned  to  camp.  There 
were  so  many  of  us,  our  evenings  were  very 
pleasantly  spent  in  speaking  of  our  past  ex- 
periences, past  friends  and  future  anticipations. 

On  the  25th  we  made  our  way  through  the  under- 
growth and  arrived  at  our  destination  on  the  Eio 
Thomasa.  It  seemed  queer  to  call  it  home.  It 
was  surrounded  by  a  dense  forest  and  was  in  the 
midst  of  an  unexplored  country,  inhabited  by  noth- 
ing but  wild  beasts.  The  first  night  of  our  stay 
we  were  awakened  by  the  roaring  of  the  wild  beast 
known  as  the  donta,  an  animal  belonging  to  the 
monkey  species,  but  generally  very  black,  making- 
its  home  in  the  tallest  trees  and  seldom  seen; 
whenever  they  set  up  a  howl  they  make  the  forest 
ring  with  a  hideous  noise,  though  one  seldom  hears 
but  one  at  a  time. 

The  following  morning  we  set  about  devising 
and  calculating  where  to  locate  our  cabin,  etc. 
However,  we  soon  found   a  spot  and  set   about 


28  ADVENTURES    AND    NARROW 

clearing  a  space  to  build  on.  A  portion  of  the 
party  went  prospecting,  while  I  went  back  for  the 
balance  of  our  cargo.  I  had  missed  my  chills  for 
three  days,  and  commenced  to  recover  my  courage, 
and  resume  my  former  habits  of  smoking^and  en- 
joying myself  with  the  balance. 

I  found  our  cargo  all  right  and  arrived  in  camp 
with  it  all  safe  and  sound  without  an  accident  of 
any  kind.  We  were  obliged  to  build  our  cabins  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  for  the  rainy  season  was  close 
at  hand  and  it  was  necessary  to  protect  ourselves 
from  it  at  once.  We  turned  out  with  all  the  force 
we  could  command,  and  the  first  day  I  disabled 
myself  by  cutting  my  foot;  one  of  the  boys  was 
taken  sick  and  had  to  be  taken  to  Domingo.  The 
Germans  finished  prospecting  and  started  on  their 
return  to  the  city,  having  to  take  one  of  the  boys 
to  look  after  the  sick  man;  this  left  us  with  only 
three,  and  in  this  condition  the  rain  came,  and 
poured  down  almost  two  weeks  steadily.  My 
chills  came  on  and  with  a  crippled  foot  I  was  in- 
deed in  a  bad  condition.  My  constitution  must 
have  been  the  very  best,  or  I  should  never  have 
lived  through  it.  Not  having  a  dry  place  to  get 
into,  another  of  our  party  fell  sick  with  fever  and 
ague,  and  at  this  time  only  one  was  left  at  each 
camp  to  care  for  the  sick,  except  our  hired  native 
who  took  care  of  the  horses;  but  before  the  last 
was  taken  down  two  had  succeeded  in  getting  the 
cabin  partially  up,  and  one  side  covered  far  enough 
to  protect  us  from  the  rain.     Sad  and   gloomy 


ESCAPES    IN   NICARAGUA.  29 

nights  followed,  when  nothing  was  heard  but  the 
growl  of  the  tiger,  or  the  bark  of  a  wolf  as  they 
made  their  nightly  approaches  to  the  enclosure  of 
the  camp.  We  always  kept  our  firearms  close  to 
us.  We  slept  in  hammocks  attached  to  the  joists 
of  the  cabin;  here  we  laid  and  shook  with  the  ague. 
Our  shaking  caused  the  leaves  and  dirt  to  fall  through 
from  the  roof,  and  sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  there 
must  be  an  earthquake.  Finally  we  began  to  gain 
in  health,  and  began  to  think  of  putting  the  horses 
to  pasture  if  we  could  find  a  trusty  native  to  take 
charge  of  them,  and  take  them  out  of  the  canon 
before  they  should  break  their  necks  climbing  over 
the  rough  sides  of  the  mountains.  My  horse  had 
pitched  over  one  precipice,  landing  in  a  brush 
heap,  and  it  took  an  hour  to  cut  him  out  of  it. 

We  were  running  short  of  provisions,  and  to 
kill  two  birds  with  one  stone,  we  had  the  horses 
brought  round,  and  one  of  the  boys  with  our  hired 
man  took  them  to  pasture,  and  at  the  same  time 
went  on  to  Xicoro  with  one  mule  to  get  provisions, 
for  we  were  on  short  rations  of  beans  and  hominy, 
but  we  could  say  we  had  the  best  in  camp  to  eat, 
and  while  we  were  at  dinner  some  one  would  start 
up  the  impromtu  song  of — 

"  Hominy,  hominy,  beans  and  corn," 
Sung  to  the  tune  of — 

"  Eabbit  foot,  rabbit  foot. 
Nails  and  claws." 
One  would  say,  *'oh  dry   up,  it's  ill  manners  to 
sing  at  the  table."     *'Well,  what's  the  diiference 


30  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 

in  a  wild  country  like  this?  You  never  intend 
to  be  among  civilized  people  again  then,  I  sup- 
pose ?" 

*'0f  course  I  do,  and  then  we  can  be  more  man- 
nerly." 

'* Probably  not;  it's  better  to  improve  your  man- 
ners, or  at  least  preserve  what  you  have,  for  you 
are  becoming  so  ill  mannered  that  when  you  return 
to  civilization  you  will  not  know  how  to  conduct 
yourself  properly," 

*'If  we  stay  in  this  country,  well  be  behind  the 
fashions  anyhow." 

'*I'd  like  to  know  what  fashion  has  to  do  with 
manners,  or  with  us  here;  just  wait  till  we  make  a 
fortune,  and  we  shall  find  use  enough  for  our  man- 
ners, and  probably  fashion  also." 

''How long  shall  we  have  to  wait?" 

''Time  will  tell;  in  about  three  months  the  story 
will  be  told." 

"Yes,  and  probably  a  bad  one;  we  shall  doubt- 
less be  making  tracks  with  our  heels  towards  the 
camp." 

After  Mr.  Tompkins  arrived  with  one  mule 
loaded  with  provisions,  we  commenced  gaining 
in  health  and  nearly  ready  to  commence  work 
again;  but  our  continued  bad  luck  seemed  to  have 
its  way.  Hardly  a  day  passed  but  something 
happened  of  a  disagreeable  nature  or  formed  into 
accidents  to  prevent  our  carrying  into  execution 
our  plans  and  designs. 

The  native  who  went  with  Mr.  Tompkins  to  take 


ESCAPES   IN   NICAKAGUA.  31 

the  horses  to  pasture  and  get  provisions,  only  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  back  as  far  as  the  pasture.  Mr. 
Tompkins  supposed  he  was  merely  idling  along, 
but  he  was  mistaken,  he  stole  one  of  the  best  mules 
with  a  pack  saddle  and  made  his  escape  unmolested, 
and  was  never  heard  of  again. 

The  man  who  was  taken  ill  and  carried  to 
Domingo,  required  a  man  to  go  to  his  assistance, 
and  this  reduced  our  number  to  three,  and  a  heavy 
task  to  commence;  unable  as  we  were  it  had  to  be 
done,  for  **at  this  stage  of  the  game"  there  was  no 
backing  out. 

We  had  to  saw  lumber  by  hand,  a  ditch  to  dig 
and  a  dam  to  build  to  turn  the  river;  timber  that 
was  suitable  for  lumber  was  scarce  and  hard  to 
obtain,  being  on  a  very  steep  hillside,  and  owing 
to  the  dense  growth  of  light  brush,  we  had  double 
work  to  perform,  for  the  underbrush  had  to  be 
cleared  before  we  could  work  at  the  heavy  timber; 
a  sawpit  had  to  be  constructed,  and  with  skids  and 
hand  spikes  roll  the  logs  down  the  hill  on  to  the 
sawpit;  by  this  means  we  could  use  our  saw. 
After  cutting  down  one  tree,  we  made  one  sawpit; 
but  we  had  two  sawpits  to  make,  having  one  tree 
on  each  side  of  the  river;  while  two  of  us  were  en- 
gaged sawing  lumber,  another  was  digging  the 
ditch;  but  owing  to  our  poor  health  the  work  pro- 
ceded  very  slowly,  still  we  made  good  use  of  our 
time,  for  it  was  a  struggle  akin  to  that  of  life  and 
death. 

In  a  month's  time  we  had  cut  and  sawed  out 


32  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

three  hundred  feet  of  lumber,  enough  to  make  our 
sluice-boxes,  and  one  hundred  yards  of  ditch  dug. 
We  were  now  ready  to  build  the  dam.  The  river 
was  about  ten  feet  wide,  about  one  foot  deep  with  a 
very  swift  current  that  required  a  substantial  dam. 
Heavy  timbei^  were  needed,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  cut  them  above  the  spot  where  we  intended 
building  it  and  roll  them  down  by  hand.  Our 
provisions  were  getting  low  again,  and  we  found 
we  should  be  obliged  to  suspend  work  or  replenish 
the  * 'larder."  By  sending  word  to  Domingo,  we 
learned  that  our  sick  man  was  so  far  recovered  as 
to  be  able  to  dispense  with  the  man  who  attended 
him,  at  least  long  enough  for  him  to  take  a  load  of 
provisions  to  our  camp.  We  found  one  ready 
means  of  supply;  if  we  could  spare  the  time  to 
take  our  guns  and  go  into  the  forest,  we  could 
catch  as  many  wild  turkeys  as  we  needed,  oc- 
casionally we  brought  one  down  from  the  trees  by 
firing  from  our  cabin  door.  One  evening  we  suc- 
ceeded in  catching  game  without  going  to  the  door 
e  ven .  Just  after  dark ,  after  retiring  to  our  *  *  bunks , ' ' 
a  word  always  used  for  bed,  I  believe,  by  miners, 
hunters,  trappers,  and  travelers,  I  heard  a  scram- 
bling noise  that  seemed  to  be  in  the  joists  in  the 
front  part  of  the  room;  after  trying  to  discover 
what  it  was  through  the  dim  light  of  the  fire,  I 
finally  discovered  an  animal  setting  there  helping 
himself  to  our  jerked  beef,  but  no  sooner  had  I 
spoken  than  one  of  the  boys  gTasped  a  rifle  and 
brought  him  to  the  floor;  knowing  it  was  a  deadly 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  33 

shot,  we  did  not  leave  our  bunks  to  investigate  the 
matter  until  morning.  On  arising  in  the  morning, 
we  found  a  possum  lying  in  one  of  the  pains  that 
borders  on  dissolution;  the  next  movement  on  our 
part  was  to  throw  him  over  the  hill — no  meat  made, 
but  some  saved. 

After  another  arrival  of  provisions,  we  intended 
to  give  the  river  a  test,  before  standing  in  need  of 
another  supply,  if  possible.  Having  a  skiff  all 
completed,  and  our  dam  nearly  built,  we  knew  it 
would  not  be  many  days  before  we  could  ascertain 
whether  we  had  gold  in  the  river  bottom  or  not. 
As  we  came  near  the  completion  of  this  dam,  we 
had  reinforcements,  which  was  not  at  all  surpris- 
ing, but  during  the  hard  work  we  had  it  all  to  our- 
selves; so  at  this  time  we  were  honored  with  look- 
ers on,  who  were  in  our  way,  but  not  able  to  give 
us  a  lift.  A  foreigner  who  had  just  arrived  from 
Leon,  knowing  something  about  carpenter  work, 
was  soon  engaged  making  sluice-boxes.  The  two 
boys  in  the  Domingo  camp  made  their  appearance 
about  this  time,  making  six  in  number,  but  the 
returned  convalescents  were  hardly  able  to  help 
us,  and  were  little  disposed  to  go  into  the  hard 
work  as  we  had  been  working  for  so  many  weeks. 
A  few  days  would  decide  the  matter,  and  settle  the 
question  as  to  whether  our  labor  had  been  all  in 
vain  or  not. 

Now,  after  the  dam  was  completed,  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain  came,  (and  having  the  river  turned 
into  the  channel)  and  causing  the  river  to  take  a  sud- 


34  ADVENTURES   AND    NARROW 

den  rise,  it  broke  over  the  side  of  the  channel,  causing 
the  stream  to  flowback  into  the  main  river-bed  again. 
After  the  flow  had  subsided,  it  required  three  days 
to  repair  it.  We  finally  succeeded  in  draining  the 
river,  and  set  our  sluice-boxes.  Finding  the  bed 
of  the  river  almost  on  the  bed-rock,  allowing  us 
but  little  dirt  or  gravel  to  wash,  it  was  not  a  very 
favorable  prospect  for  gold;  still  we  continued  to 
sluice  out  the  largest  portion  of  the  dirt  and  gravel 
that  we  could  find,  and  after  twice  cleaning  up  we 
had  obtained  the  sum  of  five  dollars  and  a  few  cents. 
For  three  months  of  hard  labor  and  long  sacrifice, 
we  had  about  one  dollar  apiece;  we  felt  discour- 
aged, and  with  good  reason. 

**  Now,  boys,  what's^  to  be  done  ?  A  part  of  the 
crowd  had  better  take  the^ve  dollars,  and  get  out 
of  the  wilderness,  and  the  balance  of  us  had  tet- 
ter stay  until  the  provisions  are  used  up."  This 
was  accepted  as  a  good  idea.  The  mule  was 
brought  up  to  camp,  three  saddles  packed  on  his 
back,  with  two  or  three  blankets,  (having  but  few 
clothes  left  we  could  carry  them  on  our  backs). 
Three  of  us  were  now  ready  to  travel,  and  three 
would  remain.  Theodore  Kelsey,  Charles  Stevens 
and  myself  were  ready  to  travel;  Tompkins,  Si- 
mons and  Gaston  to  remain  in  camp.  Stevens 
came  to  the  camp  on  foot  and  was  ready  to  leave 
by  the  same  conveyance.  Our  idea  of  packing  the 
mule  with  three  saddles  was  only  to  the  pasture 
where  our  horses  were  to  be  found,  and  the  mule 
to  be  sent  back  to  camp.    We  bade  goodbye  to  our 


ESCAPES   IN    NICARAGUA.  35 

friends  and  were  en  route  for  Leon.  After  we  ar- 
rived at  the  pasture,  we  started  in  pursuit  of  my 
horse,  accompanied  by  a  native.  Taking  the  load 
from  the  mule,  I  mounted  and  the  native  proceed- 
ed on  foot.  After  we  had  traveled  over  a  very 
high  mountain  and  down  into  a  deep  gulch,  we 
found  a  part  of  the  horses,  all  except  my  own,  but 
the  native  followed  the  gulch  a  little  further,  and 
soon  came  back  driving  the  old  fellow  before  him, 
but  he  was  too  poor  to  live .  I  hardly  recognized  the 
faithful  animal.  "Was  it  possible  I  was  left  to  foot 
it  back?  Not  while  another  horse  was  to  be  found. 
My  poor  beast  had  carried  me  all  the  way  from 
Leon  to  the  mines  when  I  was  too  ill  to  walk,  hav- 
ing the  chills  and  fever,  and  now  he  was  reduced 
to  a  skeleton.  I  first  thought  of  shooting  him 
to  relieve  him  of  his  misery,  but  I  did  not 
have  the  heart.  I  understood  the  reason  now  of 
the  boys  insisting  on  my  coming  to  the  pasture  for 
the  horses.  They  had  surely  inquired  in  regard 
to  the  welfare  of  the  horses,  unknown  to  me,  and 
insisted  on  my  coming  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  if 
I  would  be  foolish  enough  to  go  back  without  one 
— if  so,  they  were  badly  mistaken,  for  I  was  not 
long  catching  another,  and  when  we  returned  to 
the  balance  of  the  little  homeward  party  it  was 
quite  dark,  but  we  tied  our  animals  and  rolled  up 
in  our  blankets  for  the  night. 

We  had  no  difficulty  in  making  our  way  for  some 
days,  not  until  we  arrived  at  a  road  turning  off 
from  our  trail,  leading  through  pueblo  nuevo,  and 


36  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

thence  to  Sauci,  being  our  nearest  way  to  Leon. 
Leaving  Santa  Rosa  and  Jicarel  to  the  left,  we  trav- 
eled over  a  rolling  and  most  beautiful  prairie.  The 
scenery  was  the  finest  I  had  seen  in  the  whole 
country.  Fat  cattle  were  grazing  at  their  leisure. 
Our  path,  or  road,  seemed  to  run  along  on  a  divide 
or  ridge,  and  we  found  a  scarcity  of  water,  but 
there  seemed  to  be  an  abundance  a  little  below  on 
either  side.  We  traveled  along  this  ridge  until  we 
grew  very  thirsty,  before  we  came  to  water  near 
the  road,  and  just  before  we  reached  this  place  we 
were  met  by  a  black,  hairy-breasted  Indian,  that 
seemed  to  have  some  negro  blood  in  his  veins,  and 
looked  as  though  he  had  never  worn  a  shirt  in  all 
his  life.  As  he  emerged  from  the  brush  at  the 
roadside,  he  demanded  a  passport  with  his  bayo- 
net drawn,  and  if  we  had  not  been  expecting  guards 
on  the  way  he  would  have  had  a  few  charges  fired 
at  him  before  he  could  have  uttered  the  word,  pasa 
porte.  As  he  demanded  the  passport,  pretending 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  custom,  we  asked  him  why 
he  asked  for  one  ?  He  took  particular  pains 
to  inform  us  the  various  reasons,  and  as  though  he 
didn't  wish  any  trouble.  Judging  well  from  his 
wild  appearance  that  he  would  understand  Eng- 
lish, I  spoke  to  the  boys  as  follows: 

*  *  What  shall  we  do,  boys?  Is  it  possible  that  we  are 
caught  and  are  compelled  to  go  back,  and  have  to 
probably  suffer  for  water  unless  we  can  obtain  it  from 
the  guard?  Here  is  only  one  greaser,  and  there  are 
three  of  us  and  two  revolvers;  we  may  rest  assured 


to 


li 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  37 

this  is  not  the  only  guard,  and  look  back  there  at 
the  old  wall  that  they  have  made  a  breast-work  of 
in  case  of  an  emergency,  and  just  before  us  is  a 
steep  precipice  to  ascend,  it  will  be  impossible  to 
make  our  escape  unless  we  should  kill  all  of  them, 
if  there  are  any  more.  There  they  come  now, 
about  half  a  dozen  of  them,  all  armed  with  mus- 
kets; we  had  better  be  a  [little  cautious  how  we 
talk."  As  they  came  rushing  up,  they  seemed  to 
be  in  quite  an  excited  state,  as  though  they 
thought  we  were  endeavoring  to  pass  without  a 
passport.  Our  chance  looked  dismal.  Of  course 
we  expected  to  be  taken  prisoners.  *'  Oh,  boys," 
said  I,  ''  I've  got  a  passport  in  my  valise,  which  I 
secured  in  San  Francisco,  allowing  me  the  privi- 
lege of  traveling  through  any  part  of  the  country; 
it  is  written  in  Spanish  and  I  paid  for  it  in  gold 
coin." 

*'  It's  no  use  to  get  that  out,"  said  one,  "it  does 
not  say  anything  concerning  cholera" 

*'  Never  mind,  let's  try  it  anyhow."  Dismount- 
ing, I  spoke  in  Spanish,  pretending  that  I  had, 
until  now,  forgotten  the  passport  that  I  had,  or 
that  I  scarcely  knew  before  what  **  sii  pasa  porte" 
meant.  It  was  nearly  sundown  and  we  had  but 
little  time  to  spare,  but  I  was  not  long  in  securing 
the  passport  and  handed  it  to  the  guards.  One 
woTild  read  it,  then  another,  and  then  they  would 
ook  at  the  blank  side  of  it  as  though  they  were 
examining  the  quality  of  paper;  then  they  would 
look  at  the  seal.     While  they  were  reading,  we 


38  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

were  waiting  patiently,  and  still  with  doubts  as  to 
its  success,  and  most  of  all  we  feared  they  would 
see  that  it  was  only  a  pass  for  one  man  and  that  it 
would  not  be  accepted  for  us  all.  Mr.  Kelsey  says 
that  he  has  one  likewise,  so  we  thought  that  far,  at 
least,  we  were  all  safe.  The  guard  looked  at  us 
all  as  though  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  do,  but 
he  said  he  would  keep  the  passport  and  we  might 
pass  on.  We  left  the  pass  willingly  and  traveled 
along  about  fifty  yards  and  began  to  ascend  a  very 
steep  mountain,  where  we  had  to  dismount  and 
lead  our  horses,  being  impossible  to  ride,  and 
night  began  to  draw  her  crimson  sunset  curtains 
over  the  landscape,  and  we  were  soon  enveloped 
in  darkness;  and  such  a  clambering  over  the  cliffs 
and  pebble  stones  in  the  dark  I  never  experienced 
before.  After  ascending  the  hill  about  a  mile,  we 
came  to  a  flat  and  heavy  forest,  so  dense  that  not 
a  star  could  be  seen  through  the  canopy  of  leaf 
and  branch.  We  mounted  with  one  footman  be- 
hind, giving  the  bridles  to  the  horses  to  find  the 
way  by  their  better  instinct.  Sometimes  we  were 
obliged  to  strike  a  match  when  the  horses  would 
lose  the  trail.  We  soon  came  to  a  river,  where  we 
drank  too  much  water  for  our  own  comfort.  We 
tied  our  horses  and  rolled  ourselves  in  our  blank- 
ets for  the  remainder  of  the  night,  sleeping  sound- 
ly until  the  morning  light  pierced  the  interlocking 
branches  of  the  forest,  giving  us  the  first  view  of 
the  morning  in  silver  lines,  creeping  through  the 
heavy  thickness  of  interlacing  leaves. 


f  .OF  THB 

f  UNIVERSITT 

ESCAPES   IN   NICARAfe«i^jCUIFqRH\^,^    39 

We  resumed  our  journey  after  a  hearty  break- 
fast, and  at  9  o'clock  came  to  an  Indian  hut,  where 
we  again  refreshed  ourselves  and  proceeded  on  to 
Sauci,  which  is  quite  a  magnificent  looking  place 
for  an  Indian  town.  We  passed  directly  through, 
making  no  stop,  as  we  desired  to  reach  Kisiluaka 
as  soon  as  possible,  where  we  designed  remaining 
until  we  could  get  particular  news  from  Leon  in 
regard  to  cholera^  though  we  expected  to  meet  our 
friend  Covert  there,  and  find  protection  for  a  time. 
However,  being  disappointed  in  finding  him,  his 
hired  native  prepared  dinner  for  us,  and  as  well  as 
we  could  ascertain  from  the  natives  the  cholera 
was  not  raging  in  Leon,  but  a  few  cases  were  known 
in  the  vicinity.  Being  old  acquaintances  with  the 
natives,  they  insisted  upon  us  taking  dinner,  and 
cut  a  chicken's  head  off  before  we  could  scarcely 
make  a  reply.  After  finishing  dinner  we  ventured 
upon  our  journey  and  rode  on  to  Leon,  where  we 
would  be  sure  to  find  our  friend,  and  one  that  we 
would  not  be  mistaken  in.  He  was  an  old  filli- 
buster  of  the  Walker  fame,  and  a  resident  of  Nica- 
ragua about  fifteen  years,  and  one  of  the  best  Amer- 
ican residents  of  the  country.  His  friendship  is 
not  based  upon  the  amount  of  money  a  man  may 
have,  for  I  had  no  money,  and  if  he  was  not  a 
friend  of  mine,  the  symptoms  were  very  deceitful, 
that's  all.  On  our  first  arrival  in  Nicaragua,  he 
interested  himself  in  our  welfare,  gave  good  advice 
and  rendered  prompt  assistance.  While  we  were 
at  the  mines  he  took  out  our  mail  matter,  and  paid 


40  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

twenty-five  cents  per  letter,  and  forwarded  them 
to  us,  taking  the  chances  of  getting  his  money 
back;  this  man  is  J.  Thomas,  and  a  man  who  need 
not  be  ashamed  of  his  name.  *'We  shall  not  fail 
to  visit  him  whether  we  have  money  or  not,"  we 
said,  and  were  soon  before  his  door.  He  came  out  to 
us  with  a  smile  on  his  face,  and  with  a  look  that 
seemed  to  say,  '*I  expected  to  see  you  return  in 
this  condition."  ''Well  my  friends,  '*said  he,"  are 
you  willing  to  give  up  now  ?  Get  down  and  put 
your  horses  out,  I  will  send  a  man  to  feed  them, 
and  if  you  will  own  up  beat,  I  will  take  you  in, 
and  hope  you  will  make  this  your  home  until  you 
see  your  way  further. " 

Being  glad  to  accept  the  offer  we  did  not  hesi- 
tate long  ovej  the  conditions,  but  came  to  terms  at 
once.  Our  horses  were  well  cared  for,  a  good 
cigar  apiece,  and  a  seat  in  the  pleasant  shade  fell 
to  our  lot,  while  to  the  amusement  of  Mr.  Thomas 
we  began  to  narrate  our  trip  to  the  mines  and  in- 
cidents that  occurred  during  our  absence.  It  was 
the  general  impression  that  we  made  a  desperate 
strike,  had  endured  many  hardships  and  obliged 
to  succumb  at  last  to  failure  and  poverty.  After 
enjoying  a  meal  fit  for  a  king,  we  set  out  for  a 
walk  around  the  city,  and  met  a  few  of  our 
friends  who  had  not  yet  left  the  country  in  dis- 
gust. They  were  anxious  to  obtain  information 
from  and  of  the  mines,  and  assailed  us  with  in- 
quiries, but  our  replies  were  not  very  encouraging. 
Eiver  and  placer  mining  in  Nicaragua  has  been  in- 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  41 

variably  a  failure;  still  people  are  not  always 
satisfied  until  they.make  the  experiment  for  them- 
selves. We  felt  that  we  had  made  one  for  our- 
selves, and  our  number  was  growing  less  and  less 
every  day,  and  there  would  not  be  enough  left  to 
make  another  at  the  rate  they  were  falling  off.  As 
to  making  a  settlement,  it  was  necessary  to  keep 
together,  and  the  most  productive  and  tillable 
lands  lay  in  the  interior.  The  country  Americans 
ought  to  settle  is  some  distance  from  the  coast; 
high,  cool,  pleasant  and  healthy.  Being  situated 
far  from  market,  a  small  colony  cannot  go  to  the 
expense  of  building  a  road,  which  is  really  the  first 
thing  to  be  done,  and  cannot  be  dispensed  with. 
In  the  lowlands  is  good  soil,  but  malaria  of  all 
kinds  seems  to  infest  the  place,  and  Americans 
will  not  settle  in  these  localities.  If  a  society  in- 
tend to  populate  the  country  they  must  all  settle 
together,  and  depend  upon  one  another  for  as- 
sistance. 

The  American  minister  had  no  foreman  on  his 
cotton  plantation  to  take  charge  of  about  sixty  na- 
tives, (there  is  a  probability  of  final  settlement  of 
this  country,  but  not  while  Americans  have  to  seek 
work  to  save  themselves  from-  starving.)  After  re- 
maining about  a  week  with  Mr.  Thomas,  I  made  a 
bargain  with  the  American  minister,  A.  B.  Dicken- 
son, to  take  charge  of  the  plantation,  though  for 
very  low  wages,  with  a  refusal  of  better  eventually.  I 
therefore  saddled  my  gray  and  went  to  the  planta- 
tion.    Being  at  the  suburbs  of  the  city  it  was  only 


42  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

about  half  a  mile  from  the  minister's  office.  I  was 
soon  made  known  as  the  foreman  of  the  ranch, 
and  took  the  men  and  went  out  to  the  cotton  field 
and  set  them  at  work,  and  made  an  excellent 
start.  For  the  first  three  days  the  natives  turned 
their  work  out  well  without  any  difficulty.  The  min- 
ister was  in  the  habit  of  calling  upon  me  every 
day,  until  business  caused  him  to  be  absent  several 
days,  then  the  natives  began  to  be  reckless.  Not 
being  slaves,  we  could  not  compel  them  to  work, 
but  they  hated  to  have  their  wages  docked,  so  we 
made  a  general  rule  to  weigh  their  cotton  every 
evening,  and  if  it  was  short  what  was  considered 
a  day's  work,  we  would  dock  five  or  ten  cents  on 
the  work.  They  then,  between  themselves,  adopt- ' 
ed  a  plan  when  they  could  get  out  of  my  sight  of 
throwing  dice  for  handsful  of  cotton.  Of  course 
some  would  be  in  arrears  at  night,  and  the  winners 
would  have  an  over  amount  of  cotton  to  be  credited 
to  them. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  minister's  depaiiure, 
the  natives  grew  heedless  and  impertinent,  and  re- 
cognized me  no  longer  as  their  foreman,  but  from 
appearances  I  saw  they  intended  to  appoint  one  of 
their  own  number — one  who  had  held  the  position 
previous  to  my  appointment.  However,  I  endeav- 
ored to  convince  them  to  the  contrary.  I  came  in 
contact  with  the  native  foreman,  and  requested 
him  to  conduct  his  men  better.  I  soon  found  I 
had  hurt  his  feelings,  and  he  was  getting  very 
angry,  but  exhibited  no  signs  of  rebellion.     He 


I 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  43 

spoke  in  a  very  abrupt  manner,  saying  *'  the  min- 
ister had  not  hired  him  to  work."  I  told  him 
**  he  was  hired  to  do  as  I  bade  him,  if  not  to  work 
to  attend  strictly  to  the  men  that  were  working." 
I  was  not  in  a  condition  for  any  contention,  being 
quite  unarmed,  and  the  native,  more  for  pretension 
than  anything  else,  was  always  armed  with  a  pistol 
and  knife,  and  as  I  made  the  last  remark,  he  said 
that  if  I  *'  was  the  superior  boss  "  he  would  leave 
the  field  and  leave  them  in  my  charge  alone.  I  told 
him  I  could  do  as  well  without  him.  He  started 
off,  saying  nothing  about  his  pay,  but  scarcely  had 
I  time  to  take  a  walk  among  the  men,  and  set  them 
to  picking  the  cotton  better,  when  he  returned,  go- 
ing to  a  party  of  men  and  conversing  with  them; 
at  the  same  time  I  was  discharging  a  man  for  ill- 
conduct  and  bad  work,  paid  him  and  bade  him 
leave  the  field.  On  hearing  this,  they  shouted  they 
would  all  leave,  taking  up  their  cotton  sacks  at  the 
same  time,  though  rather  hesitating  to  see  if  I 
would  take  the  discharged  man  back,  rather  than 
have  them  all  leave.  To  their  astonishment,  I 
started  for  the  end  of  the  cotton  rows  where  my 
horse  was  tied,  and  told  them  to  come  on,  that  if 
they  quit  work  they  would  not  get  their  money  un- 
til the  minister's  return,  or  until  Saturday,  the  reg- 
ular pay  day.  They  gave  a  hideous  scream,  and 
came  after  me  with  a  rush,  gaining  ground  on  me 
as  I  mounted.  I  waited  to  see  the  next  move,  and 
as  they  all  came  up,  they  drew  their  knives,  demand- 
ing their  pay,  and  threatening  my  life.     I  consid- 


44  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

ered  it  about  time  to  leave.  I  gave  my  liorse  tlie 
whip,  and  was  at  the  house  long  in  advance  of 
them.  I  got  my  revolver  and  put  it  in  my  shirt 
bosom,  waiting  patiently  for  the  scoundrels  to 
make  their  arrival;  but  presently  they  came  with  a 
rush  and  a  warwhoop,  stamping  their  cotton  down, 
at  the  same  time  waiving  their  knives  at  a  desper- 
ate rate.  I  stood  firm  and  unexcited,  relying  alto- 
gether on  my  revolver.  If  I  had  not  had  this  good, 
reliable  friend,  I  should  have  given  up  the  field. 
After  a  desperate  argument,  and  after  the  natives 
had  cooled  down  again,  and  found  that  I  was  too 
stubborn  and  headstrong  for  them,  the  native 
*'  boss  "  came  and  asked  me  if  I  would  allow  them 
to  go  to  work  again.  I  gave  them  their  choice,  to 
quit  or  go  to  work.  Taking  work  in  preference  to 
a  discharge,  they  started  for  the  field,  though  I 
called  the  **boss"  back,  and  gave  him  orders  to  take 
charge  of  the  men  alone,  until  the  minister  re- 
turned, and  I  would  only  take  charge  of  'them 
about  the  house,  and  if  the  work  was  not  done  as 
it  should  be  I  would  discharge  them  all  at  once. 
He  made  the  agreement,  and  things  went  on 
smoothly  until  the  minister  returned,  when  I  ren- 
dered my  report.  The  natives  trembled  with  fear 
when  he  gave  the  answer  that  if  they  wished  to 
leave  they  were  to  be  paid  off  the  next  day.  As 
he  spoke  in  English,  I  interpreted  for  him  in  Span- 
ish. Pretending  to  be  better  friends  than  ever, 
they  had  no  intention  whatever  of  leading,  but 
quite  wilHng  to  work  under  my  orders. 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA. 


45 


I  was  tired  and  worn  with  my  hardships  in  the 
mines.  I  found  it  a  hard  task  to  stand  over  them, 
and  I  believe  the  old  man  made  it  an  invariable 
rule  to  visit  the  field  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  at 
which  time  he  usually  found  me  in  the  shade  of  a 
tree,  if  there  was  one  near.  This  would  discour- 
age the  old  man  so  that  he  wouldn't  talk  about  bet- 
ter wages,  and  the  low  wages  I  was  getting  dis- 
couraged me  too.  My  wages  would  not  allow  me 
a  suit  of  clothes  suitable  for  the  business  I  was  in; 
besides  the  natives  respected  the  well  dressed  man, 

and  were  more  obedient  to  one  who  looked  better 

I^Bhan  they  did.  Still  the  minister  was  hard  to 
'^"please,  and  we  could  hardly  see  things  alike,  so  I 
took  my  little  dimes  and  left. 

I  saddled  up  the  gray  again,  and  was  on  my  way 
[once  more,  with  no  hope  of  making  a  fortune  at 
resent. 


46  ADVENTURES   AND   NAEROW 


CHAPTER  lY. 

A  TRIP  TO  VIRGIN  BAY  AND  SAN  JUAN  DEL  SUR. 

Leaving  the  cotton  plantation,  I  made  a  visit  to 
Kisiluaka,  and  then  set  out  for  a  trip  to  the  transit, 
and  by  way  of  Lake  Nicaragua.  This  trip  was  made 
in  company  with  a  German  and  a  party  of  natives, 
of  whom  my  friend  hired  a  mule  for  the  occasion. 
We  left  the  city  June  the  8th,  passed  several 
ranches  that  seemed  to  be  deserted  or  owned  by 
natives,  that  w^ere  no  doubt  lurking  somewhere 
on  the  lookout  for  travelers.  "We  traveled  about 
eight  miles  and  stopped  at  Pueblo  Nuevo  for  the 
night.  The  day  had  been  very  warm,  and  our 
horses  were  very  tired,  although  the  roads  were 
excellent  and  well  shaded.  The  next  day  we 
journeyed  about  five  leagues  before  passing  a 
habitation,  until  we  arrived  at  Nagarote.  The  breeze 
and  shade  made  it  delightful  traveling.  About  one 
league  from  Nagarote  we  crossed  the  Rio  San  Remon, 
and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  further  came  to  Lake 
Managua,  and  then  traveled  on  the  beach  for  a 
mile  and  stopped  at  the  Pueblo  Mateare  four  and 
a  half  leagues,  and  stopped  at  Nagarote.  This  place 
is  a  most  filthy  Indian  town  and  overrun  with  bed- 
bugs. On  the  morning  of  the  10th,  we  traveled 
about  six  leagues  to  Masaya,  where  the  natives 
left  the  pack  train,  one   of  them  continuing  the 


ESCAPES   IN   NICARAGUA.  47 

journey  with  us  to  Granada.  We  passed  Masaca  two 
and  a  half  leagues,  and  halted  at  an  Indian  hut 
for  the  night,  among  the  banana  orchards.  Our 
chances  for  supper  were  rather  slim.  On  the 
morning  of  the  11th,  after  a  rain  during  the  night, 
(it  was  still  cloudy,)  we  took  an  early  start  and 
traveled  past  some  heavy  forests  and  some  fine 
grazing  land,  and  arrived  at  Granada,  where  we 
remained  the  following  day.  During  this  time  I 
sold  my  horse,  and  on  the  12th  we  were  ready  to 
take  a  flat-boat  that  was  bound  for  the  island  of 
Ometeper.  The  boat  was  owned  by  natives,  and  the 
first  night  on  the  lake  we  *were  caught  in  a  heavy 
rain,  having  no  shelter  for  protection  except  our 
blankets.  Occasionally  while  rowing  among  the 
islands,  the  natives  would  pull  us  under  a  wide 
spreading  thickly-leaved  tree,  that  afforded  very 
good  shelter  during  the  heaviest  showers.  There 
were  too  many  islands  to  attempt  to  run  by  sail, 
and  the  Indian  was  the  poorest  excuse  of  a  row- 
an I  ever  met.  After  rowing  awhile  and  resting 
awhile,  we  finally  rowed  to  shore,  and  remained 
over  night.  The  next  morning  we  were  gladdened 
►y  the  sight  of  the  warm  sunlight  and  antici- 
pated an  early  and  pleasant  start ;  but  when 
we  saw  our  natives  making  for  the  woods  in 
search  of  meat,  we  were  greatly  vexed.  After 
an  absence  of  about  two  hours  they  came  back 
with  a  large  iguana,  an  animal  apparently  belong- 
ing to  the  alligator  family,  averaging  about  four  feet 
in  length.  They  generally  live  in  the  trees  near  the 


48  ADVENTURES   AND   NARROW 

water  edge,  and  when  disturbed  they  plunge  into 
the  water  and  dive  like  a  fish.  The  Indians  gener- 
ally go  in  companies  of  three  or  four,  with  long 
knives,  and  while  one  climbs  a  tree  the  balance 
wait  below,  having  waded  out  into  the  water,  with 
knives  ready  to  strike  when  the  animal  lea^^s  in; 
frequently  they  catch  them  in  their  arms. 

After  the  iguana  was  dressed  he  was  cut  in  pieces 
with  a  knife,  tail  and  ^1  put  into  a  kettle  and  well 
boiled;  green  plantains  were  also  roasted.  After 
the  iguana  was  boiled  the  skin  was  taken  off,  and 
the  meat  appeared  as  white  as  a  chicken.  It  was  a 
great  rarity,  and  with  our  bread  and  cheese  we  had 
a  splendid  meal,  and  were  soon  floating  down  the 
lake  again  at  a  slow  speed,  and  passed  through 
a  very  deep  and  quiet  part  of  the  lake.  The  water 
was  without  a  ripple.  We  soon  came  to  another 
place  where  the  water  was  green  with  plants,  caus- 
ing us  to  imagine  we  were  in  very  shallow  water, 
until  to  our  great  astonishment  we  found  they 
grew  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  To  satisfy  our 
curiosity,  as  the  boat  passed  we  lifted  them  by  the 
top  and  dropped  them  again  into  the  same  place; 
the  roots  fell  below,  acting  as  a  kind  of  balance  to 
the  plants  setting  so  gracefully  on  the  surface.  The 
Americans  call  it  the  sea-cabbage;  it  looks  like  a 
bunch  of  lettuce. 

After  we  had  gained  some  distance  from  shore, 
we  were  favored  with  a  good  breeze,  and  hoisting 
our  sails  were  soon  landed  on  the  island  of  Amo- 
tapa,  where  we  remained  for  one  day,  awaiting  an 


ESCAPES    IN    NICARAGUA.  49 

opportunity  to  obtain  a  boat  for  Virgin  Bay.  Dur- 
ing our  stay  we  took  a  stroll  through  some  fine 
coffee  and  cocoa  plantations,  owned  and  worked  by 
natives.  They  seemed  to  be  confident  of  a  good  crop 
every  year. 

The  next  day  we  obtained  a  little  boat,  or  rather 
cheap  passage  on  a  small  boat  to  San  George^ 
where  we  hired  a  native  to  carry  a  part  of  our 
baggage,  and  proceeded  on  to  Virgin  Bay  on  foot. 

VIRGIN    BAY. 

As  we  came  in  sight  of  Virgin  Bay,  it  exhibited 
more  signs  of  civilization  than  an}^  place  we  had 
seen  in  months.  It  was  welUsettled  by  Americans, 
the  houses  built  in  American  style,  with  plank 
floors.  It  was  grandeur  to  us.  As  we  entered  the 
St.  Charles  hotel  we  were  astonished  to  hear  our 
heels  resounding  on  the  floor,  and  hearing  so  many 
speaking  English.  The  town  is  built  near  the  lake, 
with  a  long  wharf  built  out  into  the  lake,  to  meet 
the  supposed  transit  road  leading  from  San  Juan 
del  Sur  through  Virgin  Bay,  where  it  connects 
with  the  lake  boat  crossing  the  lake  at  the  St. 
Charles,  and  there  connecting  with  the  river  boats 
navigating  the  San  Juan  river,  and  connecting  with 
the  ocean  steamers  from  San  Francisco. 

On  the  17th,  four  hundred  passengers  jDassed 
through  from  San  Francisco  en  route  for  New  York, 
making  things  look  lively  for  awhile.  Hotels  and 
saloons  did  a  good  business,  but  as  soon  as  the  pas- 


50  ADVENTURES    AND    NARROW 

sengers  were  aboard  of  the  lake  boat,  the  business 
was  ''  dead  as  a  doornail/'  and  everything  restored 
to  quiet.  After  remaining  in  Virgin  Bay  for  some 
time,  I  went  across  to  San  Juan  del  Sur,  when  I 
found  myself  in  one  of  the  dirtiest  and  most  un- 
healthy spots  in  the  country.  Duiing  the  time  I 
remained,  the  fever  broke  out,  and  of  course  I  had 
it  with  the  rest.  I  had  not  escaped  any  of  the  evils 
of  the  country  so  far,  and  expected  to.  have  all  that 
was  going.  It  was  by  mere  accident  I  escaped  the 
cholera.  I  returned  to  Virgin  Bay  about  the  time 
the  passengers  w^ere  due  again  from  San  Francisco. 
I  awaited  the  arrival,  and  got  on  board  the  lake 
boat  with  them  for  Grey  town.  Crossing  the  lake, 
we  arrived  at  the  St.  Charles,  where  w^e  took  a  boat 
and  proceeded  down  the  river.  The  scenery  along 
the  river  w^as  beautiful;  the  tropic  vegetation  and 
luxuriant  floral  display  is  scarcely  equaled  on  the 
continent.  On  arriving  at  Castillo  our  attention 
Avas  drawn  to  the  old  ruined  fort,  that  presented  a 
grand  scene.  It  was  erected  on  a  ver>^  high  hill, 
projecting  from  the  water's  edge.  Walker's  guards 
had  demolished  it  in  some  places — or  rather  demol- 
ished its  beauty — but  guards  were  seen  pacing  its 
walls.  Opx^osite  the  fort  is  a  fall  or  rapids  in  the 
river,  that  defies  navigation  in  the  diy  season.  Here 
we  found  about  a  mile  of  railroad  cars,  drawn  by 
mules,  for  the  purj^ose  of  conve;\ing  the  freight 
and  baggage  to  the  boats  below  the  falls,  the  pas- 
sengers being  obliged  to  walk. 

Down  the  river  we  were  chaimed  w4th  the  seen- 


ESCAPES    IN    NICAEAGUA.  51 

ery;  the  songs  of  gorgeously  feathered  birds  and 
the  perfumes  of  tropic  blossoms  loading  every 
breath  of  air.  Several  of  the  passengers  amused 
themselves  with  shooting  at  the  alligators  as  we 
passed  them  basking  their  rough  backs  in  the  sun. 
We  made  good  time  down  the  river  to  Grey  town,  and 
the  sight  of  the  ocean  steamer,  that  lay  at  anchor 
ready  to  exchange  passengers,  was  a  welcome  sight 
to  all,  but  particularly  to  me. 

GREYTOWN. 

Greytown  is  inhabited  mostly  by  Americans  and 
foreigners.  Though  not  remaining  long,  and  tak- 
ing but  few  notes,  I  saw  about  all  there  was  of  in- 
terest in  the  place.  So  long  as  this  route  from  San 
Francisco  to  New  York  was  kept  open,  Greytown 
flourished  and  became  a  port  of  some  importance. 
I  accomplished  my  business  at  this  town,  and  re- 
turned with  the  returning  steamer  and  the  New 
York  passengers,  intending  to  go  with  them  to  San 
Francisco,  and  abandon  my  wild  explorations  in 
Hicaragua.  The  company  were  not  long  in  ex- 
changing freight  and  passengers,  and  we  were 
steaming  up  the  river,  though  at  a  much  slower 
rate  of  speed  than  when  we  came  down. 

On  our  return  nothing  occurred  worthy  of  note 
until  we  reached  San  Juan  del  Sur,  where  we 
took  the  ocean  steamer  America,  and  in  October, 
on  the  24th  day,  we  sailed  from  the  port  of  San 


52  ADVENTURES    IN    NICARAGUA. 

Juan  del  Siir  for  San  Francisco,  having  been  ab- 
sent just  seventeen  months  in  Central  America. 

Our  ocean  trip  was  a  pleasant  one,  varied  with 
the  usual  routine  of  steamer  life.  We  took  pains 
to  note  the  distance  accurately  from  San  Juan  del 
Sur  to  San  Francisco,  which  is  2,700  miles.  No- 
vember the  sixth  found  us  sailing  into  the  harbor, 
through  the  ** Golden  Gate,'*  thankful  to  set  foot  in 
the  '*  city  by  the  sea"  once  more. 


/\ B R  A  f?F 

OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY 


\r 


UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA 


LIBRARY 


'his  is  the  date 


book 


which 
was  charged  out. 


this 


iVOV 

REOD  LD 

APR    9 '65 -6  PM 


■^\^^^^Mik\ 


